12 challenges for a healthier you

Experimenting with 12  challenges to be more healthy

I ll go week by week adding one step at a time and testing my body to see how it was affected, I encourage all my readers to experiment with me too and post how they feel after each step.. gradually we can all take these steps for a healthier future

Water: Water helps to transports oxygen and nutrients to different parts of the body. Water helps to removes toxins and wastes from the body. Water regulates body temperature through perpetration.

The first step which is the hardest to me is drinking water, my body just never signals to me that it is thirsty unless I was running in a marathon and drinking water to me is like taking a medicine, I tried so much to incorporate water into my daily diet and I failed but this time I am more determined.

First day i tried to drink one cup of water and felt so hard

Second day same thing

Third day I was actually starting to feel a bit thirsty and drinking was easier I bought this new fancy big cup and filled it with water and sipped from it through out the day and I think I drank couple of cups more than usual

A week passed and I actually get thirsty a lot more and I drink a lot easier

A couple of weeks now and water is actually part of my diet, but the trick to me is to fill my big cup on the morning and put it in a place where I ll see it and I keep sipping from it and my kids do the same too. I was actually depriving them from water too cause they learn from our habits.

I didn't feel a burst of energy or anything, but I noticed my coffee and tea intakes are a lot less... Or actually diminished , maybe anther week and I might start feeling a more noticeable effect.

Dr. Ferry doon batmanghelidj an Iranian political prisoner, treated 3000 fellow prisoners during 3 years, who suffered from peptic ulcers, migraines, asthma and other diseases just by water" you are not sick you are thirsty" 

He also opposed the use of drugs for illness saying " you don't treat thirst with medication".

Anther challenge for me this week was skipping the Cheerios cup for my 1 year old, I used to give her this non spill cup of organic low sweetened Cheerios because it kept her busy for hours in the car and during my shopping and it just made life so much easier, she would love to pick them one by one from inside t he cup and eat them and I can do my thing. But I always felt guilty cause first I am teaching her that she has to have food all the time to keep her self busy, second I am letting her know that processed cereal is okay to eat, third even if it is organic it is still not that healthy it is made up of processed oats which no longer carries the nutritions found in whole oats and sugar which is addictive, and it ll fill her up from eating other more nutritious foods and give her a bad habit. 

So the first day when I put her in the car she kept looking for her cup and cried so I distracted her and gave her a cheese stick she nibbled on it then she kept herself busy looking through the window. Second day she looked for her cup I gave her a toy and she was good all the way. Third day she didn't look for it and now i no longer have to give her something to eat all the time to keep her busy in the car or through shopping. I substitute with a toy or a healthy snack that she can nibble on. A very good alternative to Cheerios is corn or peas cause she ll love the sweet taste and the small balls that she can pick one by one. 

Most unhealthy choices that we feed ourselves or our kids are our way of having a shortcut to actually preparing a healthy snack or meal.but there are lots of fast healthy meals for on the go for you kids. Peas, corn, carrots, dried prunes or any dried fruit, cut up apples, avocados... The list goes on.

Sugar and high fructose corn syrup

Sugar addiction and hight fructose corn syrup

First there are some facts that you need to learn about sugar, and the it will make more sense to eliminate sugar from your diet 

1-Sugar and sugar substitutes are four times more addictive than cocaine.and it has withdrawal symptoms( U of Bordeux, 2007)

Sugar addiction develops in several different ways. Partly it is due to the fact that sugar effects the area in the brain called the reward pathway in the same manner as drugs and alcohol, it over stimulates the neurotransmitters until they no longer function properly, tolerance develops and the mind becomes dependent on sugar to function.

A quick dose of sugar causes blood sugar to rise rapidly. To compensate, the body releases insulin, forcing the blood sugar level to plummet. The end result? Another sugar attack. Common side effects include nervousness, crankiness, headaches, and bad dreams. (Padus, Emrika, et al. The Complete Guide to Your Emotions & Your Health. p 371. PA: Rodale Press, 1986.)

2-Today’s Consumption: Today, an average American consumes 2-3 pounds of sugar each week.  While at the end of the 19th century (1887-1890), the average American consumed only 5 lbs. per year.

3-Sugar suppresses the immune system. If a person consumed no sugar for 12 hours, each white blood cell could destroy an average of fourteen bacteria. When 24 teaspoons of sugar were ingested (average amount in a medium piece of cheesecake or a milk shake) the white blood cells were so compromised they could only destroy an average of one bacterium each, a 92% reduction. (Nedley, Neil, M.D. Proof Positive. p 184-185. OK: Nedley. 1998, 1999.)

In November of 1973 the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study by A. Sanchez et al., showing that ingesting 100 grams of simple sugar lowers white blood cell activity for up to 5 hours. He got this result using processed honey, table sugar, and processed orange juice. This translates into a 50% reduction in the ability of white blood cells to engulf bacteria. The immune suppressing effect begins within 10 minutes of ingesting the sugar

4-"Drinking even one sugary drink a day raises the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by 25 percent

"Besides increasing their risk of type-2 diabetes, people who drink one sugary beverage a day increase their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 20 percent. Metabolic syndrome is the name given to a collection of risk factors that indicate a progression not only towards type-2 diabetes, but also towards heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and liver disease."

"Research presented at the American Heart Association's Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention Conference explained that consumption of HFCS-sweetened soda has led to 130,000 new cases of diabetes, 14,000 new cases of heart disease, and 50,000 more "life years" with heart disease -- and all within just ten years."

5-"A study of rats fed diets with equal calories from sugars and starches, for example, found the animals on the high-sugar diet developed more cases of breast cancer."

"Sixty-eight mice were injected with an aggressive strain of breast cancer, then fed diets to induce either high blood-sugar (hyperglycemia), normoglycemia or low blood-sugar (hypoglycemia).

There was a dose-dependent response in which the lower the blood glucose, the greater the survival rate. After 70 days, 8 of 24 hyperglycemic mice survived compared to 16 of 24 normoglycemic and 19 of 20 hypoglycemic.

This suggests that regulating sugar intake is key to slowing breast tumor growth."

"An epidemiological study in 21 modern countries that keep track of morbidity and mortality (Europe, North America, Japan and others) revealed that sugar intake is a strong risk factor that contributes to higher breast cancer rates, particularly in older women."

7-Research out of the University California-Davis is now backing up his claim.  The study showed that excess consumption of high fructose corn syrup increases a type of artery-clogging cholesterol – which in turn increases the risk for heart disease.

"Fructose rapidly leads to weight gain and abdominal obesity (“beer belly”), decreased HDL, increased LDL, elevated triglycerides, elevated blood sugar, and high blood pressure—i.e., classic metabolic syndrome."

9-Elevated insulin also signals the liver to produce more cholesterol. We produce far more cholesterol than we eat.it lowers the HDL (the good cholestrol levels)

Is sugar toxic?

The refining process for white sugar includes the use of several chemicals to produce the white in sugar. These may be toxic at the level of sugar consumption today.

However sugar in the raw (Demerara or turbinado) sugars should not be toxic. The same can be said for certified organic dehydrated cane juice or organic honey.

Well, besides that sugar is addictive and hard to give up, most of our sugar intake is probably hidden in processed food and not directly from sweets or sugar you use at home. Most breads, sauces, ketchups, canned foods,cereals, peanut butter, fruit yoghurt, .. Etc most processed food will have some form of sugar which can come in different names in the ingredients that you have to learn to look for. And the best thing is to leave out processed food all together.

Be aware of what has sugar in your food, get in habit of reading labels. Sugar has many names:

   - sucrose

   - lactose

   - glucose

   - dextrose

   - honey

   - sorbitol

   - fructose

   - maltose

   - molasses

   - corn syrup

   - maple syrup

   - corn sweetener

   - juice concentrate

   - natural sweeteners

Steps to try an break your sugar addiction

1- eat more sweet veggies like sweet potato, squash, corn, peas it ll reduce your sugar cravings

2-remove all indirect sugar intake from processed food , since it has addictive Properties the more sugar there is in your diet the more you will crave it.

3- reduce direct sugar intake as much as u can, don't leave sweets and desserts around the house

4- when you are craving sugar your body probably is lacking energy, look for it in more nutritious foods have some fruit, or a heathy meal and drink some water and see if your cravings subside.

5-sugar cravings are also increased by stress so try to find better alternatives to deal with your stress,explore what works for you , a walk, a warm shower, meet up with friends, dance on music...what ever it is u pick don't make it related to food,your body is looking for emotional relief not hunger relief.

The two natural sugar alternatives are

1-raw honey ( not heated like most commercial honey)

2-stevia leaves ( get the green powder if u cant find the leaves not the white powder which is processed)

The best state for sugar if you have to use it is organic raw cane sugar ( Turbinado) not brown sugar which is white sugar+molasses

Do a favour to the new generation, don't get your kids into the habit of having sweets and sugary drinks daily, besides breakfast cereal which is loaded in sugar and lacking most of the nutrition. 

Diabetes in children:

The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2010

Globally, there are close to 500,000 children under the age of 15 with type 1 diabetes.

Every day 200 children develop type 1 diabetes – that’s 70,000 children a year.

Type 1 diabetes is increasing in children at a rate of 3% each year.

Type 1 diabetes is increasing fastest in pre-school children, at a rate of 5% per year.

As rates of childhood obesity have risen sharply, so have the rates of type 2 diabetes among children. From 2005 to 2008, type 2 diabetes doubled in American children.

As much as your child loves candy bars and chocolate try to make a wise choice by not buying or allowing your child to consume these dangerous products when ever you can, and you can make sweet healthy choices at home as a treat every once in a while.

Going back to nature

Our modern society is lacking peace, content, and happiness. The rates of depression, insomnia, eating disorders as well as diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and  blood pressure have tripled over the past years. A combination of physical and emotional imbalance is invading the world.

I feel that the more life complicated life gets, the more stuff we have, the more it is hard for us to find content, peace and happiness.we usually don't appreciate most of what we have and sometimes we don't even use it or see it, and we are no longer able to distinguish between what's is good or bad  for us.We have too many things to choose  from which makes it so stressful to decide and leaves us with lots of regrets and wrong choices.

appreciating the little things in life sometimes inspires me more than anything, a new journal with a soft leather feeling and flawless paper to get me writing, or some veggies fresh from the farm and a pan to get me cooking, or a bright beam of sunlight entering through my windows to make me feel energized...etc. 

We really need to get more connected to the beautiful natural things that are available for us free everywhere not in department stores.

 

 I specially feel this with my kids, they have access to tons and tons of toys but they seem to not be content or happy with what they have, my 4 year old would always tells me "mum I am bored and I don't know what to do I don't like any of my toys and there is nothing to be done".... And I would always reply by saying "ok I ll take them all back to the store ", so I decided to think out of the box and experiment a little bit.I decided to remove all the toys and leave just 3 toys and a couple of stories for the whole weak, i ll also the start with the toys that needs less hassle and are simpler to play and change them weekly, my guess would be she would play with the fewer toys alot more and be less bored cause she doesn't have tons of confusing options and no hard choices. I ll let u know how it goes by the end of the week and invite all parents to experiment too.

The same things happens to our system when we are exposed to too many food choices, in old times people knew by extinct what to eat. they craved the right foods for their body, warm comfort foods in winter , fruits in summer, they craved the food that ll nourish their body and ll provide it with exactly what it needs, they didn't need health coaches or diet books.

Now are bodies are thrown off balance, we cant tell what and how much and when we need this particular food, we crave all the wrong foods, we binge we diet we starve ourselves and nothing works. it is not our fault, thousands of  unhealthy processed options on racks cereals, sauces, dressings and snack bars..Etc, they are easy and attracting but they mostly lack what you are looking for nutrition.

Processed food is the worst thing people invented, it goes into the body and gives the body all the wrong signals, sometimes the body doesn't even recognize it as food it doesnt know where to put  it or how to categorize it, it raises your  blood sugar or cholesterol level and it doesn't give u the energy you were looking for, the nutrition your body was lacking, so your body will keep searching and craving more food. I believe processed food is the number one cause of most health issues and no matter how much and what type of food u decide to eat from earth in its natural form, I doubt that it ll cause any harm.we hear about people binging on pizza, chips, pastas, burgers, cakes ... But I never heard about someone over eating grilled chicken or carrots or brown rice or fruits to a degree that can cause obesity or any other health problem.

Anther thing that makes our cravings imbalanced is having all kinds of foods available all year round. I think certain fruits grow In This particuLar season for a reason, they fulfilled a need the body wants through this season, example are things like watermelon, they tend to lower your body temperature so it is very good for you in hot days but when u get access to it in winter it ll get u too cold and u ll be looking for something to warm u up so you ll be eating more than you need.

my first recommendation to get back on track with your bodys normal balance is to say a big "no" to any processed food, eat just real natural food and limit your choices by going to a small local grocery store or a farm near by instead of big grocery store that ll get u bombarded by all these foods on shelves and deceive u From What u should really be buying, I know this is not available everywhere specially in middleeastern countries but try get the freshest most natural source u can get.. Be simple and try to cook a basic meal with lots of fresh ingredients and veggies that will get u inspired, Appreciate how tasty and fulfilling natural foods can be.Experiment a week of just raw natural food from earth and let me know how u feel, share it with us so we can get inspired by your experience.there is nothing more healing and inspiring to your health than fresh ingredients from earth to your kitchen.

Flu season

I had a couple of ideas on mind for this weeks blog but since the whole house was sick this week I just have to share this experience with you. My kids and husband got a bad flu but I felt different this time, having had all this information about how medical companies tend to mislead the public making them think this medicine ll cure them while all it actually does is hide the sickness making it even worse to cure plus all the added side effects of medicines and having all that information from my school about how nutrition and diet are so important for healthy life and treating all kinds of illness I decided to just go natural on treating them this time. I made my research and I gathered my courage, I skipped the doctor visit which would have probably ended up with an antibiotic prescription since they all had fever, and I went to the health store i got a plant extract called elderberry (Used for its antioxidant activity, to lower cholesterol, improve vision, boost the immune system, improve heart health and for coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsilitis. Elderberry juice was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama in 1995) and echnicea ( Echinacea is an herbal remedy people often use to treat the common cold. Many people believe that the plant can boost the immune system and reduce the severity or length of colds. Echinacea is one of the best-selling herbal products in the U.S) and nasal spray with grapefruit seed. I also got eucalyptus, which is a plant that smells just like Vicks but it is completely natural I rub it on their chest every day and I put it in their humidifier at night to clear up mucus. Their is few extra things that can work for adults, having ginger lemon and honey drink, eating raw garlic, putting turmeric in warm milk or water helps loosen up mucus. Experiment with all the natural remedies that god put for us in earth to benefit from and stay away from chemicalized meds that do more harm than good. Don't forget to stay hydrated and get plenty of rest So we must be wondering did it work??? Well they are getting better gradually, the mucus in their chest and nose is considerably less, fever is gone.this is our third day so it is no magic it is a virus it ll just have to take its course the best u can do is to help relive discomfort from the symptoms and increase immunity for a quicker recovery.

My first blog ever

As a first time blogger, I would like to to announce that I just joined the integrative nutrition school which is like a dream come true to me, it all started 5 years back when I got married and started to learn to cook and thus go grocery shopping, this is when I noticed how much canned, Jared, ready cooked and processed foods were out there, and I got more freaked out when I decided to read the labeling ingredients and found out that even just a regular loaf of bread has about a 100 ingredients that are all things I never heard of before, I became increasingly aware of what I put in my pantry, and with reading more and more I decided to make myself a processed free kitchen :).


I started reading a lot and knowing more and more about the toxins found in processed food, and I decided to do everything at home, I got baking books and I baked the most amazing bread, I made the most delicious nutritious tomato sauce ever, I made my own yoghurt, I made my own peanut butter and i experimented with all kinds of nutritious healthy foods. now as I got deeper and deeper after having my first baby, I also announced my kitchen to be organic and chemical and hormone free as much as possible, I was very concerned about what I feed her, I proudly say i never fed her one baby food jar or baby cereal, I fed her home cooked whole grains and fresh cooked fruits and veggies and dairy and meat, she is the new intoxicated generation we need to raise the new kids to love and cherish everything that is from the ground naturally found and not from factories and big corporations, and despite all my efforts my 4 year old still loves McDonald's chocolates cake and ice cream :(.

Another turning point in my life was when my husband was diagnosed with high cholesterol, and I was dedicated to reading and reading more about natural foods to lower it down without the need for harmful medication, and thank to god we were able to put it back to its normal levels in just 4 weeks, that was astonishing to know that there is an easy and healthy solution out here that has no side effects to cure people's disease yet nobody wants to adopt it and market it because it doesn't make a lot of profit like the field of selling medicine of course.

Back then all my hopes were just to get my family to eat right, I never hoped to have this chance to change everybody else around me, I was always the person in between my Friends that they call for diet advice, exercise tips,  baby food and I looooved giving advice about food and nutrition I was so eager to spread what I know out there to everyone and stop people from eating the toxic food out here , but now i ll be able to do this more confidently with more knowledge and make money along the way :)